Verizon Wireless said Tuesday that it’s working with Google on a new tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad, whose early success has sent rival tech companies scrambling to catch the next big wave in mobile computing.

Dell and Toshiba also have said they’re working on tablets that would run on Google’s Android software. Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, recently announced plans to buy Palm and use that smartphone maker’s software in its own line of tablets and similar devices.

“Other vendors are not going to stand by and just cede that market to Apple,” said Michael Gartenberg, a tech industry analyst with the Altimeter Group. “We’re going to see more competition in this space.”

The move also could intensify the competition between Google and Apple, two former allies who have butted heads recently as Apple has expanded into the mobile advertising business and Google has promoted its Android software for smartphones and portable computers.

It also shows that Verizon wants a share of the business that rival wireless provider AT&T has been enjoying with its exclusive arrangement to support Apple’s iPhone as well as the iPad.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said he believes tablets are part of “the next big wave of opportunities” for his company. His comments were reported first by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by a Verizon spokeswoman.

Verizon now carries several smartphones that run on Google’s Android operating system. Verizon also provides wireless service for several models of “netbooks” — highly portable, downsized notebook computers made by other companies — but it has not yet come out with a tablet.

Apple says it sold 1 million iPads in the first month since the product was introduced. Before those results were announced, the IDC research firm had projected that 7.8 million iPads and similar devices will be sold this year, and more than twice that number next year.

“Apple has most certainly validated the tablet market with the iPad in conjunction with AT&T, so it’s not surprising that other carriers are going to be looking for other partners to bring other devices to market,” Gartenberg said.

Google declined to comment Tuesday, except to say that Android is “open source” and therefore can be used by anyone who wants to incorporate it into a smartphone or other mobile device.

But Google executive Andy Rubin said in a recent interview with the Mercury News that Android, which was originally developed for smartphones, is a good match for tablet devices.

“We haven’t produced a tablet version of Android yet, but I think it could be pretty interesting,” said Rubin, who oversees mobile technology for Google. He noted that software developers could write applications that would run on both Android phones and tablets, just as developers now write apps that can run on both Apple’s iPhone and the iPad.

“All the developer has to do is write one app,” he added. “It’s an extremely powerful concept.”

Verizon’s McAdam did not elaborate on what role his company would play in developing or selling an Android tablet, who would manufacture the device or when it would be available. He also didn’t say whether Verizon would subsidize the retail price of an Android tablet as it does with mobile phones. AT&T subsidizes the price of the iPhone, but it does not provide a subsidy for the iPad.

But analysts say that wireless carriers such as Verizon want a piece of the profit to be made from the growing popularity of lightweight, mobile computers.

“The wireless carriers are all trying to figure out ways to make money, beyond being stupid pipes” for transmitting data, said Bob O’Donnell, an IDC analyst.

Verizon’s announcement also left some analysts and tech bloggers speculating on what it means for the growing rivalry between Google and Apple. By aligning with Google on a tablet, some wondered whether Verizon may be sacrificing its chances to someday carry a version of Apple’s iPhone.

But Gartenberg noted that tech industry partnerships and rivalries are constantly shifting. “The industry moves so fast,” he said. “There are deals, and renegotiated deals, and renegotiation of renegotiated deals.”

Mercury News staff writers Troy Wolverton and Mike Swift contributed to this report. Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022 or follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.

A transit village with apartments, retailers, restaurants and a hotel is rising in Milpitas next to The Great Mall, close to light rail and the under-construction BART station. It’s one of several Silicon Valley projects sprouting up near transit.